Part mounting apparatus and part supply apparatus

ABSTRACT

A component installing device comprises: a tray component supply section ( 8 ) having a plurality of conjointly provided tray component supply mechanisms ( 7 ) for moving selected trays ( 4 ) from a storage position ( 5 ) to a component supply position ( 6 ), according to need, thereby providing the components ( 2 ) accommodated therein for use; and a cassette component supply section ( 13 ) having a plurality of mutually aligned component supply cassettes ( 12 ) for carrying components in a tape cassette or a bulk cassette, and transporting said components to a component supply position ( 11 ), one at a time, thereby providing said components for use. Components ( 2 ) accommodated in the respective trays ( 4 ) located at the component supply positions ( 6 ) of the respective tray component supply mechanisms ( 7 ) in the tray component supply section ( 8 ), and components ( 2 ) transported to the component supply positions ( 11 ) of the respective component supply cassettes ( 12 ) in the cassette component supply section ( 13 ), are variously handled and installed at prescribed positions on a circuit board ( 1 ) by means of an installing head ( 21 ).

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a component installing device, and moreparticularly, to a component installing device used in cases whereelectronic components of various types are installed directly on acircuit board, or cases where an electronic circuit board ismanufactured by provisionally setting electronic components by means ofcream solder, or the like, and then installing said components by meansof reflow processing, or the like, and to a component supply device usedto supply various components in a component installing device of thiskind.

BACKGROUND ART

In order to install various electronic components of this type in acircuit board automatically (including provisional setting and actualinstallation), component supply mechanisms corresponding to the varioustypes of components have been proposed and employed. For example, finechip components are handled by means of component supply cassettes suchas tape cassette or bulk cassette, in which components are supplied, oneby one, to a prescribed position for use. Irregular components having alarge or special shape, such as integrated circuits, connectors, or thelike, are stored in an array in trays, several components of eachdifferent type being thus stored. When used, a prescribed tray of thevarious trays stored is selected and moved to a prescribed componentsupply position, where the components accommodated therein are suppliedfor use.

Conventionally, a variety of electronic components are supplied in astable fashion by using component supply mechanisms of this kind inconjunction with a single component installing device, and even in thecase of electronic circuit boards requiring a variety of electroniccomponents, these components can be installed using a single componentinstalling device or few component installing devices, thereby ensuringadaptability to increasing diversification in electronic components.

In recent years, there has been significant diversification andexpansion of electronic components, with progress of integratedcircuits, development in connectors, and the like. Therefore, it hasbecome necessary to handle electronic components of many differenttypes, forms, shapes, and sizes in components supply devices andcomponent installing devices. Moreover, the number of electroniccomponents required to manufacture a single electronic circuit board hasalso increased, due to increases in the size and functional range ofelectronic devices. In conjunction with this, there has also been demandfor even higher speed operation in component supply, in order to achievefurther improvements in productivity.

However, conventionally, in order to install the required types ofcomponents, a variety of component supply cassettes and a tray componentsupply mechanism have simply been used in conjunction with each other,but this has not enabled all of the various demands described above tobe satisfied.

For example, depending on the electronic circuit board being fabricated,it may be necessary to install various types of large-scale electroniccomponents, but if these components are mounted accordingly in a singletray component supply mechanism, there is a limit on the number of typesof components that can be accommodated.

Moreover, although the tray component supply mechanism is suitable forsupplying large-scale or specially shaped electronic components, itprovides poor efficiency in supplying the plurality of traysaccommodated therein, in a sequential fashion, according to theselection of component type. In other words, it moves a required tray ofthe trays accommodated in plural stages in a tray magazine to a positionopposing a component supply position, whereupon the electronic componentaccommodated therein is supplied by drawing the tray out to thecomponent supply position. Each time a different tray is selected, thetray at the component supply position is first accommodated in the traymagazine, whereupon a task for moving the subsequent tray to thecomponent supply position is performed according to the same procedure,and hence a time lag arises when components of different types aresupplied from the tray component supply mechanism in a sequentialfashion, thereby causing productivity to decline. Moreover, since thecomponent supply pattern is simple, it is difficult to achievecompatibility with various different component use patterns.

Furthermore, in the case of electronic components having a specialshape, such as large-scale electronic components, connectors, or thelike, which are not balanced with respect to their centre of gravity,the components are liable to fall off when handled by a componentinstalling tool or component transfer head, and hence they cannot behandled at high speed. Therefore, if installing a variety of componentsby using various component supply cassettes and a tray component supplymechanism, which are provided conjointly, in a simple sequentialfashion, it is necessary to delay the installation of other componentswhilst handling and installing components which have a slow handlingspeed, thereby impeding further speed increases in componentinstallation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a componentinstalling device comprising a plurality of component supply cassettesand tray component supply mechanisms, whereby a plurality of differenttypes of components can be handled by a single installing machine, andinstallation can be carried out at higher speed by devising componentsupply modes.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a componentsupply device whereby the supply of components using trays can beperformed with good efficiency, in accordance with the pattern of use ofvarious components.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the component installingdevice according to the present invention is characterized in that itcomprises: a tray component supply section having a plurality ofconjointly provided tray component supply mechanisms for selecting traysaccommodating prescribed components, and moving the trays from a storageposition to a component supply position, according to need, therebyproviding the components accommodated therein for use; a cassettecomponent supply section having a plurality of mutually alignedcomponent supply cassettes for carrying components in a tape cassette ora bulk cassette, and transporting the components to a component supplyposition, one at a time, thereby providing the components for use; andan installing head for picking up components accommodated in therespective trays located at the component supply positions of therespective tray component supply mechanisms in the tray component supplysection, and components transported to the component supply positions ofthe respective component supply cassettes in the cassette componentsupply section, according to need, and installing the components atprescribed positions on an installation object.

According to this construction, small components having a high frequencyof use are handled by a cassette component supply section and componentsof various types are supplied successively from a plurality of componentsupply cassettes and are handled and installed at prescribed positionson an installation object by means of an installing head, in acontinuous fashion corresponding to their frequency of use. In themeantime, special types of components are supplied in an alternatingfashion by a plurality of adjacently provided tray component supplymechanisms in a tray component supply section, whereby even if the timefor supplying and handling individual components is long, the timerequired to supply components of special types in a sequential fashionis reduced by a half and the supply rate of special components fromtrays is doubled, thus making it easier for the supply of specialcomponents from trays to be completed in time, whilst the installinghead is handling and installing components supplied from the cassettecomponent supply section in a continuous fashion. Therefore, in overallterms, it is possible to handle a larger number of different componenttypes, the time lag involved in supplying components is reduced oreliminated, and hence high-speed operation of component installation canbe achieved.

In addition to the foregoing, the component installing device accordingto the present invention is characterized in that it further comprises aplurality of component installing tools on said installing head forinstalling components aligned in a prescribed direction; a plurality ofshuttles, which perform reciprocal movement in such a manner that theymove a selected tray of one of the adjacently disposed tray componentsupply mechanisms from the storage position to the component supplyposition thereof and then return same to said storage position;component holding sections for holding components, provided on at leastone of said shuttles and aligned in a direction and at a pitchcorresponding to the alignment direction and alignment pitch of saidcomponent installing tools; and a component transfer head for picking upcomponents accommodated in a tray that has been moved to a componentsupply position of a tray component supply mechanism and for loadingthese components onto said component holding sections; wherein saidinstalling head is able to pick up the components held on said componentholding sections and install same at prescribed positions of theinstallation object.

According to this construction, if there is a time surplus until thenext tray component is used, when supplying special components by meansof a plurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms,whilst the installing head is handling components supplied from thecassette component supply section in a continuous fashion according tothe frequency of use thereof, then this time surplus is used to pick upcomponents in a tray at a component supply position by means of thecomponent transfer head and load a prescribed number of components ontothe plurality of component holding sections provided on at least one ofthe shuttles which serve to extract and retract the trays in the traycomponent supply mechanisms, in such a manner that the prescribed numberof components thus loaded are picked up together, as and when required,and handled and installed simultaneously, by means of the componentinstalling tools on the installing head which coincide with thealignment direction and alignment pitch of the loaded components.Therefore, even in cases where a portion of the component installingtools pick up components directly from a tray located at a componentsupply position, the installation efficiency for components supplied bythe tray component supply section can be increased by a factor equal todouble the number of components that are picked up simultaneously, andhence significant increase in component installation speed can beachieved. In this case, desirably, the component holding sections areprovided in equal number to the component installing tools on theinstalling head.

In addition to the respective characteristics described above, in thecomponent installing device according to the present invention, if thecomponent transfer head is devised in such a manner that componentspicked up from a tray are rotated preliminarily in a directioncorresponding to their orientation for installation on the installationobject by the installing head, before being held by the componentholding sections, then components are rotated preliminarily withoutneeding to provide a special time period in addition to the componentsupply operation from the tray component supply section performed whilstcomponents supplied from the cassette component supply section are beinginstalled by means of the aforementioned installing head. Thus the timeperiod required conventionally for components to be subjected to imageverification and rotated to a prescribed orientation, after they havebeen picked up by the installing head, is eliminated, thereby enablingcomponents to be installed immediately after they have been picked up.

In addition to the respective characteristics described above, thecomponent installing device according to the present invention ischaracterized in that, in cases where a component being handled is aproblem component which causes an installation fault or other problem,the installing head discharges the component onto a problem componentprocessing conveyor located at a prescribed position, the problemcomponent processing conveyor being driven intermittently by aprescribed amount, each time it receives a discharged problem component,thereby conveying received problem components in a uniform direction ata uniform pitch, in such a manner that they can be supplied forprocessing, such as reinstallation, disposal, or the like. In this case,the present invention is also characterized in that, in cases where aproblem component received from the installing head is larger than areference component, the amount of conveyance is increases by anintegral factor corresponding to the size ratio thereof.

According to the aforementioned construction, if there occurs acomponent causing an installation fault or other problems, when theinstalling head is successively picking up supplied electroniccomponents of various types and installing same on an installationobject, then this component is discharged onto a problem componentprocessing conveyor located in a prescribed position, the problemcomponents being conveyed at a uniform pitch by the problem componentprocessing conveyor such that a space for receiving the next electroniccomponent is provided, and the problem components on the problemcomponent processing conveyor being processed manually for reuse,disposal, or the like, according to the respective components. In thiscase, even if the components handled by the installing head are ofvarious different sizes, since the problem component processing conveyoris transported intermittently by an amount corresponding to the size ofthe component discharged on the problem component processing conveyor,it is possible to prevent situations where two discharged componentsoverlap and interfere with each other, causing mutual damage or causinga component or components to slide off the conveyor. Furthermore, sincethe conveyance distance is reduced for small problem components, it isalso possible to prevent situations where the whole problem componentprocessing conveyor is transported further than necessary, thedischarged electronic components are transported too rapidly, and hencethe staff responsible do not have the opportunity to process theseproblem components correctly.

Moreover, in order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the componentsupply device according to the present invention is characterized inthat it comprises: a plurality of adjacently provided tray componentsupply mechanisms for selecting trays accommodating prescribedcomponents and moving said trays from a storage position to a componentsupply position, according to need, thereby providing the componentsaccommodated therein for use; a plurality of shuttles, which performreciprocal movement in such a manner that they move a selected tray ofone of the respective tray component supply mechanisms from the storageposition to the component supply position thereof and then return sameto said storage position; component holding sections, provided on atleast one of said shuttles, for holding components in a prescribedalignment direction and at a prescribed alignment pitch and forproviding same for use; and a component transfer head for picking upcomponents accommodated in a tray that has been moved to a componentsupply position of a tray component supply mechanism and for loadingthese components onto said component holding sections; wherein said traycomponent supply mechanisms have a first component supply mode, wherebyrespective selected trays are moved simultaneously to component supplypositions, thereby providing the components accommodated in therespective trays for use, and a second component supply mode, wherebycomponents accommodated in a tray located at a component supply positionof a tray component supply mechanism are loaded onto the componentholding sections of the same shuttle by means of the component transferhead, thereby providing said components for use.

According to the construction described above, in the aforementionedfirst component supply mode, wherein respectively selected trays aremoved simultaneously to component supply positions, the plurality ofadjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms are able to supplyand provide for use, simultaneously or sequentially, a number of typesof components corresponding to the number of adjacently provided traycomponent supply mechanisms, at the maximum, and therefore theefficiency of supplying electronic components of plural types isimproved.

Moreover, in the second component supply mode, wherein componentsaccommodated in a tray which has been moved to a component supplyposition of a tray component supply mechanism are loaded onto componentholding sections of the same shuttle by means of a component transferhead, thereby providing the components for use, a plurality ofcomponents held in the respective holding sections of the shuttle can bepicked up and provided for use simultaneously, and hence the number ofoperations and the amount of time involved in picking up components foruse can be reduced. Moreover, by performing the loading of theaforementioned components in parallel with the operation of supplyingcomponents from further component supply sections, comprising a furthertray component supply mechanism and other component supply mechanisms,it is possible to improve efficiency for tasks wherein a prescribednumber of components are handled in a similar manner.

Moreover, the component supply device according to the present inventionis characterized in that the component transfer head comprises acomponent transfer tool for picking up components accommodated in a traylocated at a component supply position and loading same onto thecomponent holding sections of a shuttle, by means of upward and downwardmotion, and an area sensor for detecting at which component supplyposition of the respective tray component supply mechanisms thecomponent transfer head is located, movement of the tray beingprohibited at the component supply position where the area sensordetects the component transfer head to be located.

According to the construction described above, tray movement ispermitted at the component supply position where the component transferhead is not located and tray movement is prohibited at the componentsupply position where the component transfer head is not located. Thecomponent transfer tool provided on the component transfer head movesupwards and downwards in order to pick up and load components, but sincethe trays cannot move at the component supply position where thecomponent transfer head is located, it is possible to perform theoperations of picking up components accommodated in a tray and loadingthe picked up components onto the respective component holding sectionsof a shuttle, in a safe manner, without problems of interference causedby accidental movement of the trays, due to malfunction, or the like. Onthe other hand, tray movement is permitted at the component supplyposition where the component transfer head is not located, and thereforea tray accommodating prescribed components can be moved into position,or a positioned tray can be exchanged for another tray, whilst thecomponent transfer head is picking up and loading components at theother component supply position, without fear of interfering with thecomponent transfer head. Consequently, supply of components can beperformed in a safe manner, including the operation of loadingcomponents accommodated in a tray onto component holding sections on ashuttle by means of a component transfer head.

The component supply device according to the present invention is alsocharacterized in that the component transfer head is prohibited frommoving to another component supply position, when the component transfertool of the component transfer head is lowered at the component supplyposition where the area sensor detects the component transfer head to belocated.

According to the construction described above, it is possible to preventthe component transfer tool of the component transfer head frominterfering with other members by moving between component supplypositions whilst it is in a lowered state, and therefore interferencecaused by accidental movement of the component transfer head due tomalfunction, or the like, can be prevented.

Moreover, if the component supply device according to the presentinvention is constituted in such a manner that the area sensor isprovided on a fixed section and detects a long member connected to thecomponent transfer head and moving in conjunction with same, then thewiring required for detection is simplified and the location of thecomponent transfer head can be detected between a plurality of componentsupply positions.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the aforementioned objects, thecomponent installation method according to the present invention ischaracterized in that components transported from a tray componentsupply section comprising a plurality of adjacently provided traycomponent supply mechanisms for storing trays accommodating prescribedcomponents in a plurality of levels and moving a selected tray from astorage position to a component supply position, according to need,thereby providing the components accommodated therein for use, andcomponents transported from a cassette component supply sectioncomprising a plurality of aligned component supply cassettes for holdingcomponents in a tape cassette or a bulk cassette and transporting thesecomponents to a component supply position, one at a time, therebyproviding the components for use, are picked up and installed atprescribed positions on an installation object by means of an installinghead, according to need.

Moreover, the component supply method according to the present inventionis a component supply method for selecting a tray accommodatingprescribed components in one of a plurality of adjacently provided traycomponent supply mechanisms, and moving the tray from the storageposition thereof to a component supply position, thereby providing thecomponents accommodated therein for use, characterized in that, in afirst component supply mode, respective selected trays of the jointlyprovided tray component supply mechanisms are moved simultaneously to acomponent supply position, thereby providing the components accommodatedin the respective trays for use, by means of shuttles which performreciprocal movement in such a manner that they move selected trays fromthe storage position thereof to a component supply position and thenreturn same to the storage position, and in a second component supplymode, components accommodated in a tray located at a component supplyposition of a tray component supply mechanism are loaded onto componentholding sections provided on at least one of the shuttles for holdingcomponents in a prescribed alignment direction and at a prescribedalignment pitch, thereby supplying the components for use, by means of acomponent transfer head for picking up and loading componentsaccommodated in a tray located at a component supply position of a traycomponent supply mechanism.

According to the component installation and supply methods describedabove, the supply rate of special types of components from trays can bedoubled by supplying special components in an alternating fashion from aplurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms in atray component supply section, whilst components having a high frequencyof use are supplied and installed from a cassette component supplysection. Therefore time lag in component supply can be eliminated andincreased speed in component installation can be achieved. Furthermore,in the second component supply mode of the tray component supplymechanisms, since a plurality of components held on the componentholding sections of a shuttle are picked up and provided for usesimultaneously, it is possible to raise installation efficiency byreducing the number of tasks and the required time involved in handlingcomponents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the schematic construction of acomponent installing device according to a representative embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the schematic construction of atray component supply section of the component installing device in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an overall construction including aY direction movement mechanism for a position registering supportplatform in the component installing device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing one example of a circuit board on whichelectronic components are installed;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the positionalrelationships between the position registering support platform in FIG.3, a cassette component supply section and tray component supply sectionlocated on either side thereof, and an installing head;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the positionalrelationships between trays located in respective component supplypositions of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms, and acomponent transfer head; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a control device for the componentinstalling device in FIG. 1.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafterdescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment relates to a componentinstalling device for manufacturing an electronic circuit board 3 byinstalling electronic components 2 of various types, such as a connectorin this example, to circuit board, which is the installation object inthis example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, andmay also be applied to the assembly, manufacture or fabrication ofvarious types of item, wherein various types of components are installedon various types of installation object.

In FIG. 1, in order to handle electronic components 2 of various types,there are provided: a tray component supply section 8 comprising aplurality of adjacently provided tray component supply mechanisms 7 forselecting a tray 4 accommodating a prescribed component and moving samefrom its accommodation position 5 to a component supply position 6, asand when necessary, thereby supplying the electronic components 2accommodated therein for use, as illustrated in FIG. 2; and a cassettecomponent supply section 13 comprising a plurality of adjacently locatedcomponent supply cassettes 12 for picking up components in a tapecassette or a bulk cassette, and conveying electronic components 2, oneat a time, to a component supply position 11. An electronic circuitboard 3 is manufactured by picking up electronic components 2 of varioustypes supplied by the aforementioned tray component supply mechanisms 7and cassette component supply section 13, as and when required, by aninstalling head 21, which is movable in mutually orthogonal X and Ydirections, as observed in plan view, for example, and by installingthem at prescribed positions on a circuit board 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the tray component supply mechanisms 7 eachcomprise a raising and lowering platform 16 which is raised and loweredby means of a screw axle 14 being caused to rotate in forward andreverse directions by a motor 15. A tray magazine 17 accommodating aplurality of trays 4 is mounted and registered in a prescribed positionon the top of each raising and lowering platform 16, in such a mannerthat it is prevented from falling off accidentally by means of a lockingmember (not illustrated), which locks it in place. Each tray magazine 17accommodates a plurality of trays 4 accommodating electronic components2 of various types in plural stages, in such a manner that they can beremoved and inserted individually by separating them in a verticaldirection by means of a lateral rail (not illustrated).

An extension table 18 on which the trays 4 are drawn out is provided atthe component supply position 6 set to the front of the raising andlowering platform 16 of the tray magazine 17, commonly for each of thetray component supply mechanisms 7. A shuttle 26 is provided on top ofthe extension table 18 for drawing out and retracting a tray 4 locatedin an opposing position inside the tray magazine 17, by driving samereciprocally in the Y direction by means of a timing belt 19 provided insuch a manner that it passes through the central portion of theextension table 18. The tray magazine 17 is controlled by the raisingand lowering of the raising and lowering platform 16, in such a mannerthat a tray 4 accommodating electronic components 2 to be supplied ispositioned at a height at which it can be removed onto the extensiontable 18, so that the tray 4 is pulled out by the shuttle 26 to thecomponent supply position 6 on the extension table 18, whereby aprescribed electronic component 2 can be supplied. When an electroniccomponent 2 accommodated on a separate tray 4 is to be supplied, thetray 4 pulled out to the component supply position 6 is pushed back tothe original height position corresponding to the tray magazine 17,whereupon the height of the tray magazine 17 is controlled by theraising and lowering platform 16 in such a manner that a tray 4accommodating an electronic component 2 to be supplied is subsequentlypositioned at the extracting and retracting height and is pulled out tothe component supply position 6.

The shuttle 26 has a linking member 22 for drawing out and retractingsaid tray 4, and the linking member 22 is opened and closed by means ofan actuator (not illustrated). By means of opening and closing, thelinking member 22 can be coupled with a linking section 4 b of the tray4 in the direction in which the tray 4 is removed, for example, and canbe disengaged therefrom. When the linked member 22 is in a linked statewith the tray 4, the tray 4 can be extracted or retracted with respectto the tray magazine 17. On the other hand, in a state where the tray 4and linking member 22 are not coupled, since the linking member 22 isseparated from the tray, it does not impede the movement of the tray 4associated with raising or lowering of the tray magazine 17 and it canalso be withdrawn to a position wherein it does not cause an impedimentof this kind.

Recesses 4 a are formed separately in a matrix fashion on the tray 4, inaccordance with the shape and size of the electronic components 2accommodated therein, and the tray 4 accommodates and handles theelectronic components 2 in these respective recesses 4 a in the form ofan array wherein the corresponding electronic components 2 are held in aprescribed orientation. The tray 4 is suitable for handling flatelectronic components 2, and flat, large-sized and irregularly shapedelectronic components 2 and can hold such electronic components 2 whilepositioning them in a prescribed direction by the recess 4 a on the tray4.

On the other hand, the component supply cassettes 12 are suitable forhandling electronic components, such as very small chip components ofmany various types, and the like, which have a much higher frequency ofuse than the electronic components 2 handled by the trays 4. A pluralityof these component supply cassettes 12 are provided in an array in thecassette component supply section 13, in such a manner that a largenumber of electronic components 2 can be supplied thereby.

Essentially, the tray component supply section 8 and cassette componentsupply section 13 can be arranged in any configuration which makes itpossible for electronic components 2 supplied by relative movementthereof with respect to the installing head 21 to be picked up by theinstalling head 21, as and when necessary, and installed at prescribedpositions on the circuit board 1, by relative movement of the electroniccomponents 2 picked up by the installing head 21 with respect to thecircuit board 1.

For example, high-speed component installation can be achieved by thefollowing construction. The cassette component supply section 13 handlessmall electronic components 2 of many various types which have a highfrequency of use, electronic components 2 of many types being suppliedin a sequential fashion by a plurality of component supply cassettes 12and these components being handled by the installing head 21 in acontinuous fashion up to a number corresponding to their frequency ofuse and installed successively in prescribed positions on the circuitboard 1. Meanwhile, the tray component supply section 8 supplies specialtypes of electronic components 2 in alternating fashion, by means of aplurality of jointly provided tray component supply mechanisms 7. Inthis manner, even if the handling time for supplying individualelectronic components 2 is long, it is possible to reduce by half thetime required to supply special electronic components 2 in a sequentialfashion, and hence the supply rate of electronic components 2 ofdifferent types from the trays 4 can be doubled, making it easier forthe supply of electronic components 2 of different types from the trays4 to be completed in time, whilst the installing head 21 is handling andinstalling electronic components 2 supplied from the cassette componentsupply section 13, in a continuous manner. The overall consequence ofthis is that it becomes possible to handle a larger number of differenttypes of electronic components 2, and moreover, the time lag forsupplying components can be reduced to a very short time or zero,thereby enabling high-speed component installation to be achieved.

The installing head 21 moves reciprocally in the X and Y directions, asillustrated in FIG. 1. In other words, it is supported on an X directiontable 24 and is caused to move reciprocally in the X direction byforward and reverse rotation of a screw axle 23 a driven by a motor 23.Furthermore, both end regions of the X direction table 24 are supportedby Y direction tables 29, 31, and are caused to move reciprocally in theY direction by forward and reverse rotation of screw axles 25 a, 26 a,provided respectively to the Y direction tables 29, 31 and operated bysynchronously driven motors 25, 26. On the other hand, the circuit board1 is conveyed in the X direction and supplied for component installationby the installing head 21. The circuit board 1 is supplied for componentinstallation by being passed through a loading section 32 comprising apair of conveyor rails 32 a and transported to a component installationposition 33, and after component installation at the componentinstallation position 33, the electronic circuit board 3 is conveyed viaan unloading section 34 comprising a pair of conveyor rails 34 a. Incombination, this loading section 32, component installation position33, and unloading section 34 constitute a conveyance path 30 for thecircuit board 1 and electronic circuit board 3.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, a pair of conveyor rails 35 for importingthe circuit board 1 and exporting the electronic circuit board 3, and aposition registering support platform 37 for supporting the importedcircuit board 1 from below between the pair of conveyor rails 35 andregistering the position thereof, are provided at the componentinstallation position 33. Support pins 36, and the like, which supportthe circuit board 1 from below, without interfering with electroniccomponents 2 installed on the downward-facing supported side of thecircuit board 1, in the case of a double-sided circuit board 1, forexample, are provided on the position registering support platform 37.

The tray component supply section 8 and the cassette component supplysection 13 are disposed in such a manner that they lie on either side ofthe aforementioned conveyance path 30 for the circuit board 1 andelectronic circuit board 3, as illustrated in FIG. 1. When disposed inthis manner, the length in the X direction of the space required toposition the respective tray component supply mechanisms 7 and componentsupply cassettes 12 adjacently in the X direction is halved. However,the positional configuration may be adapted freely, and in the presentembodiment, a cassette component supply section 13, wherein a smallnumber of component supply cassettes 12 are arranged in the X direction,is also provided to the side of the tray component supply section 8. Inother words, by increasing the number of aligned component supplycassettes 12, the overall length in the X direction of the spaceoccupied by the component supply sections becomes approximately equal onboth sides of the conveyance path 30, and hence the whole conveyancepath 30 through the whole device forms an effective space for performingcomponent supply.

It should be noted that the number of adjacently positioned traycomponent supply mechanisms 7 in each tray component supply section 8and the number of tray component supply sections 8 provided, andmoreover, the number of adjacently positioned component supply cassettes12 in each cassette component supply section 13 and the number ofcassette component supply sections 13 provided, as well as thepositional configuration of same, can be designed freely in variousdifferent ways.

In the present embodiment, since the component supply sections 8, 13 aredisposed separately on either side of the conveyance path 30, in orderfor the installing head 21 to pick up electronic components 2 suppliedrespectively by the tray component supply section 8 and the cassettecomponent supply section 13, the installing head 21 traverses theaforementioned conveyance path 30 in the Y direction, depending on thepick-up sequence for the electronic components 2. The amount of movementof the installing head 21 in this case is large compared to cases whereit does not traverse the conveyance path 30, thereby causing the amountof time required to pick up electronic components 2 and install same ona circuit board 1 to increase. Variation in the amount of time requiredfor such installation operation causes limitations on the installationsequence for electronic components of different types, in tasks whereelectronic components 2 of different types are being installed in asequential fashion.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the aforementioned componentinstallation position 33 is constructed to be movable in the Ydirection. Specifically, the pair of conveyance rails 35 and theposition registering support platform 37 provided at the componentinstalling position 33 are disposed on top of a Y direction table 41, asillustrated in FIG. 3. The Y direction table 41 is moved reciprocallyalong guide rails 49 in the Y direction, by means of forward and reverserotation of a screw axle 42 a driven by a motor 42. For example, theremay be a case where the installing head 21 traverses the conveyance path30 in order to pick up electronic components 2 in the component supplysection 8 or 13, for instance, by moving from above the circuit board 1indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 5 to the cassette component supplysection 13. In such a case, the position registering support platform37, in other words, the component installing position 33, is also movedtowards the component supply section 8 or 13 on the side to which theinstalling head 21 is moving, similarly to the circuit board 1 indicatedby the phantom lines in FIG. 5. Such is done at the same time that theinstalling head 21 is moving, or at least before the installing head 21begins to install the next electronic component 2. Thereby it ispossible to shorten the distance moved by the installing head 21 inorder to install the picked up electronic components 2 at prescribedpositions on the circuit board 1.

With the construction described above, it is possible to reduce thedifference in required time for installing electronic components 2 atprescribed positions on a circuit board 1 after picking up same, betweencases where the installing head 21 picks up and installs electroniccomponents 2 of various types in a sequential fashion, withouttraversing the conveyance path 30, and cases where the installing head21 picks up and installs electronic components 2 of various types in asequential fashion, whilst traversing the conveyance path 30. Therefore,even if no particular consideration is given to the installationsequence for electronic components 2 when the installing head 21 isinstalling electronic components 2 of various types at prescribedpositions on a circuit board 1 in a sequential fashion, it is stillpossible to adapt to high-speed operation of component installation,without causing working efficiency to decline significantly due tomovement of the installing head 21 across the conveyance path 30.

Moreover, by utilizing the period of time from the installing head 21picking up an electronic component 2 until installing it on the circuitboard 1 for the purpose of moving the position registering supportplatform 37 across the conveyance path 30 in accordance with themovement of the installing head 21, it is not necessary to provide aspecial time period for moving the position registering support platform37, and therefore achievement of high-speed component installation isnot impeded thereby.

One of the pair of conveyance rails 35 is held fixedly to the top of theY direction table 41, whilst the other is held movably along the guiderails 46 running in the Y direction. These conveyance rails 35 areexpanded and contracted in terms of the interval therebetween bysynchronous forward and reverse rotation of screw axles 44 a, 44 bdriven by a motor 43 via a belt and pulleys, in such a manner that theycan be adjusted to suit the width dimension of the circuit board 1 ontowhich components are to be installed, in the direction orthogonal to itsdirection of conveyance. Moreover, simultaneously with this adjustmentprocess, the position registering support platform 37 is caused to movereciprocally along a Y-direction guide rail 47 at ½ the speed of themovable conveyance rails 35, by means of forward and reverse rotation ofa screw axle 45 linked directly to the motor 43. In other words, it isdevised that the position registering support platform 37 alwaysmaintains a prescribed position between the pair of conveyance rails 35,for example, a central position therebetween, and hence it is able tosupport a circuit board 1 from below and register the position of same,in a state where the centre of the position registering support platform37 coincides with the centre of the circuit board 1 accommodated betweenthe pair of conveyance rails 35.

The installing head 21 comprises a plurality of component installingtools 51-54 for installing components aligned in the X direction whichis also the direction in which the component supply cassettes 12 andtray component supply mechanisms 7 are adjacently positioned, and arecognition camera 55 for identifying positions on the circuit board 1onto which the electronic components 2 picked up by the variouscomponent installing tools 51-54 are to be installed. The variouscomponent installing tools 51-54 and the recognition camera 55 arearranged respectively in a linear configuration. The various componentinstalling tools 51-54 correspond to the types of electronic components2 that they respectively handle, and specifically, they comprise, forexample, a suction nozzle for sucking up and holding an electroniccomponent 2, a chuck for gripping an electronic component 2, and thelike. In the present embodiment, the respective tools are suctionnozzles.

In conjunction with the installing head 21 of this kind, componentholding sections 61-64 are provided on at least one of the shuttles 26performing a reciprocal motion whereby a tray 4 is selected from theadjacently positioned tray component supply mechanisms 7, moved from itsstorage position 5 to a component supply position 6, and then storedback in its storage position 5, (in the present embodiment, one of theshuttles 26). The component holding sections 61-64 hold electroniccomponents 2 in a direction and at a pitch which correspond to thealignment direction and pitch of the component installing tools 51-54.Moreover, a component transfer head 65 is also provided for picking upelectronic components 2 accommodated in a tray 4 which has been moved toa component supply position 6 of a respective tray component supplymechanism 7, and transferring same to said component holding sections61-64, where they are held. The installing head 21 picks up theelectronic components 2 held by the component holding sections 61-64 andinstalls them at prescribed positions on the circuit board 1.

The component holding sections 61-64 should correspond to the types ofelectronic components respectively handled thereby and the electroniccomponents 2 held thereby should be capable of being picked up by thecomponent installing tools 51-54 of the installing head 21. In thepresent embodiment, these respective tools are suction nozzles, whichcorrespond to flat electronic components 2 which are handled by beingaccommodated in trays 4. The component transfer head 65 also comprises acomponent transfer tool 67 which corresponds to the type of electroniccomponent 2 handled thereby, and in the present embodiment, it employs asuction nozzle, which corresponds to flat electronic components 2handled by being accommodated in trays 4.

The component transfer head 65 is supported by an X table 68 and movesreciprocally along the X table 68 by means of forward and reverserotation of a screw axle 68 b driven by a motor 68 a. The X table 68 isfixed directly on a cabinet 66, which covers all of the tray componentsupply mechanisms 7 jointly provided in the tray component supplysection 8, above the portion thereof where exit and entry holes 66 a forthe trays 4 moved by the shuttles 26 are provided. The range ofreciprocal movement of the component transfer head 65 is a range whichallows it to pass between both of the respective component supplypositions 6 of the adjacently positioned tray component supplymechanisms 7. In order to pick up electronic components 2 from each tray4 by means of the component transfer head 65 and load the picked upelectronic components 2 onto the component holding sections 61-64, amovement of each tray 4 in the extract/retract direction by means of ashuttle 26 is utilized. Thereby, electronic components 2 at any positionon each tray 4 can be picked up, and furthermore, the picked upelectronic components 2 can be transferred to any one of the componentholding sections 61-64. However, the component transfer head 65 can alsobe devised such that it is capable of moving in both X and Y directions.

With the foregoing construction, when supplying electronic components 2of special types by means of a plurality of adjacently positioned traycomponent supply mechanisms 7, whilst an installing head 21 handleselectronic components 2 supplied by a cassette component supply section13, in a continuous fashion corresponding to the frequency of usethereof, if there is surplus time until the next electronic component 2from a tray 4 is used, this time period is utilized to load a prescribednumber of electronic components 2 onto a plurality of component holdingsections 61-64 provided on one of the shuttles 26 used to extract andretract the trays 4 in the adjacently positioned tray component supplymechanisms 7, by means of a component transfer head 65. Thereupon, theloaded prescribed number of electronic components 2 are picked up in oneoperation at the required time by means of the component installingtools 51-54 in the installing head 21, which match the alignmentdirection and pitch of the component holding sections 61-64, and arehandled and installed simultaneously. Consequently, even in cases wherea portion of the component installing tools 51-54 have picked upelectronic components 2 directly from the trays 4 located at thecomponent supply positions 6, the installation efficiency of theelectronic components 2 supplied by the tray component supply section 8will improve by double the number of electronic components 2 which arepicked up simultaneously, and hence very significant increases incomponent installation speed can be achieved. Therefore, appropriately,the component holding sections 61-64 should be provided in equal numberto the component installing tools 51-54 of the installing head 21, as inthe present embodiment.

The simultaneous handling of a plurality of electronic components 2 bythe installing head 21 employing component holding sections 61-64 isespecially effective in cases where the same electronic components 2 areinstalled simultaneously onto a plurality of circuit boards 1 which havebeen unified, in order to manufacture a so-called ‘split’ board whereina plurality of circuit boards 1 are unified into one body and electroniccomponents 2 are installed thereon to form a prescribed electroniccircuit board 3, which is then split into individual electronic circuitboards 3. In a case of this kind, it is also possible to pick up aplurality of the same electronic components 2 from the cassettecomponent supply section 13, simultaneously, and to install thesesimultaneously onto the plurality of unified circuit boards 1,respectively. In this case, it is necessary that the alignment pitchbetween component supply cassettes 12 in the cassette component supplysection 13, which are capable of supplying the same electroniccomponents 2 simultaneously, matches the alignment pitch between theplurality of component installing tools 51-54 in the installing head 21for picking up the electronic components 2 simultaneously.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the trays 4 in the right-handtray component supply mechanism 7 having component holding sections61-64 are retracted to the storage position 5 by means of the shuttle26, as illustrated in FIG. 1, and a tray 4 in the left-hand traycomponent supply mechanism 7 is extracted to the component supplyposition 6 by means of the shuttle 26, whereupon electronic components 2accommodated in the tray 4 extracted to the left-hand component supplyposition 6 are loaded onto the component holding sections 61-64 on theshuttle 26 holding the right-hand tray 4 in the storage position.Thereby the operation of handling the aforementioned plurality ofelectronic components 2 simultaneously by means of the installing head21 can be carried out in a simple and time-efficient manner. It is alsopossible for both right and left-hand shuttles 26 to be provided withcomponent holding sections 61-64, which can be used selectively. In thiscase, when the left-hand shuttle 26 is made to retract the trays 4 tothe storage position 5, conversely to the foregoing example, it ispossible for electronic components 2 accommodated in a tray 4 extractedto the right-hand component supply position 6 to be loaded onto thecomponent holding sections 61-64 provided on the left-hand shuttle andto be handled and supplied for use simultaneously by the installing head21, thereby providing a merit in that various types of electroniccomponents 2 can be handled simultaneously, in a sequential fashion.

Moreover, regardless of whether or not component holding sections 61-64are provided on the shuttles 26 of the tray component supply mechanisms7, the installing head 21 is still capable of picking up electroniccomponents from respective trays 4 extracted from both the left andright-hand tray component supply mechanisms 7, as illustrated in FIG. 2,in a continuous fashion corresponding to the required number ofcomponents, whereupon it can install these components simultaneously atprescribed positions on the circuit board 1. In this case, electroniccomponents 2 picked up from one or both of the left and/or right-handtrays 4 and electronic components 2 picked up from the component holdingsections 61-64 can be handled simultaneously, and can be installedsimultaneously at prescribed positions on the circuit board 1.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the component transfer tool 67is devised in such a manner that, before being held by the componentholding sections, electronic components 2 picked up from the trays 4 arerotated preliminarily in a direction corresponding to their orientationwhen installed on the circuit board 1 by the installing head 21, on thebasis of the fact that they are stored in the trays 4 in a prescribedorientation.

The electronic components 2 are thus rotated preliminarily withoutneeding to provide a special time period for same, during the componentsupply operation performed by the tray component supply section 8 whilstelectronic components 2 supplied from the cassette component supplysection 13 are being installed by the aforementioned installing head 21.Therefore, the time period required for verifying the image ofelectronic components 2 after they have been picked up by the installinghead 21, and rotating same to a prescribed orientation, is eliminated,and hence electronic components 2 can be installed immediately afterthey have been picked up, thereby making it possible to achieve furtherincreases in component installation speed.

Corresponding to the fact that the installing head 21 installselectronic components 2 supplied from component supply sections 8, 13located on either side of the conveyance path 30 as stated above, atprescribed positions on a circuit board 1 registered in a prescribedposition on the conveyance path 30, two recognition cameras 71, 72 areprovided at either end of the range of movement in the Y direction ofthe position registering support platform 37 in the conveyance path 30.Of these recognition cameras 71, 72, the camera located in the path oftravel of the installing head 21 when picking up a supplied electroniccomponent 2 and moving over the circuit board 1 identifies the positionsand orientations of the electronic components 2 held by the componentinstalling tools 51-54 of the installing head 21. On the basis of imagedata from the identification image, the amount of movement required forthe electronic components 2 to be installed in prescribed positions onthe circuit board 1 is determined and the amount of correction requiredin the orientation of the electronic components 2 which have been pickedup and held is also determined from same. Thereupon the orientation ofthe electronic components 2 is corrected by rotating the componentinstalling tools 51-54 holding the electronic components 2 by thedetermined amount of correction, and the electronic components 2 arethen installed in prescribed positions on the circuit board 1.

According to the foregoing construction, since the electronic components2 held by the respective component installing tools 51-54 in theinstalling head 21 are subjected to image verification, it is possibleto eliminate wasteful doubling-back movement, and the like, of theinstalling head 21, and hence this does not provide an impediment tohigh-speed component installation.

The task of installing the electronic components 2 held by therespective component installing tools 51-54 of the installing head 21,after correction of their orientation, is carried out once the overallposition of the circuit board 1 as indicated by the recognition camera55 attached to the installing head 21, and the component installationpositions on the circuit board 1, have been verified by imaging.Specifically, in order to pick up and install electronic components 2from the component supply section 8 or 13 on the other side of theconveyance path 30 from the installing head 21, the position registeringsupport platform 37 is moved in the Y direction towards the componentsupply section 8 or 13 where electronic components 2 are to be pickedup, and said electronic components are duly installed. Therefore, sincethe position registering support platform 37 is moved in an oppositedirection to its previous direction of movement such that it reaches aprescribed position immediately before the electronic components 2 areinstalled, it may occur that the platform 37 does not arrive at theprescribed position accurately, due to control errors, the effects ofback lash in the driving mechanism, or the like. Consequently, if theoverall position of the circuit board 1 and the component installationpositions, as verified by images from an recognition camera 55 in theinstalling head 21, are taken as references, discrepancies are liable tooccur in the component installation position.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, each time the position registeringsupport platform 37 is moved towards the component supply section 8 or13 where electronic components 2 are to be picked up by means of theinstalling head 21 traversing the conveyance path 30, and halts itsmovement, the overall position of the circuit board 1 is subjected toimage verification by the recognition camera 55 in the installing head21, by means of the overall position marks 81, 82 illustrated in FIG. 4,and the installation position 80 of the electronic component 2 on thiscircuit board 1 is subjected to image verification by means of theinstallation position marks 83, 84. The electronic component 2 picked upfrom the component supply section 8 or 13 by means of the installinghead 21 moving across the conveyance path 30 on the basis of this imageverification is installed at a prescribed position on the circuit board1 supported on the position registering support platform 37, which hasmoved to and halted in a prescribed position on the side adjacent to thecomponent supply section 8 or 13 from which the electronic component 2has been picked up. Hence, by moving in an opposite direction to theprevious direction of movement immediately before the electroniccomponent 2 is installed, it is possible to install the electroniccomponent 2 accurately in a prescribed position on the circuit board 1,without being affected by any variation which may occur in the positionat which the position registering support platform 37 halts, due tocontrol error, the effects of back lash in the driving mechanism, or thelike.

Each of the component installing tools 51-54 in the installing head 21and the component transfer tool 67 in the component transfer head 65 areprovided with a downward stroke S, as illustrated in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.This downward stroke S interferes with the circuit board 1, tray 4, orthe like, which is the object being handled by the tool, in such amanner that the operations of picking up, installing and loading theelectronic components 2 can be performed by the component installingtools 51-54 and component transfer tool 67 in an accurate manner.Therefore, if either one or both of the installing head 21 and/or theposition registering support platform 37 move(s) in a directionapproaching the other thereof, or if either one or both of the componenttransfer head 65 and/or the tray 4 move(s) in a direction approachingthe other thereof, when the component installing tools 51-54 are in alowered state, they will interfere with same and cause damage.

The operating program for the control device must be devised in such amanner that an operational state of this kind is avoided. However, inadopting a software response of this kind, the possibility thatmalfunction may occur due to noise, or some other reason, leading to theaforementioned problem of interference, cannot be discounted.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, an area sensor 86 as illustratedin FIG. 5 is provided to prevent interference between the installinghead 21 and the position registering support platform 37, and an areasensor 87 as illustrated in FIG. 6 is provided to prevent interferencebetween the component transfer head 65 and the trays 4 or shuttle 26.

The area sensor 86 detects whether one or more of the componentinstalling tools 51-54 in the installing head 21 lies inside thepositional range corresponding to the circuit board 1 on the positionregistering support platform 37, and in the present embodiment aphotosensor is used. The area sensor 86 is attached, for example, to theinstalling head 21, and corresponding to this, a light shielding plate88 having a length corresponding to the Y dimension of a circuit board 1of maximum size is provided on the position registering support platform37, in such a manner that it moves integrally with the circuit board 1and hence enables the position registering support platform 37 to bemoved only when the area sensor 86 detects the light shielding plate 88.

Thereby, even in cases where a control error, malfunction, or the like,has occurred, it is still possible to detect accurately by hardwaremeans using the area sensor 86 if the installing head 21 is positionedoutside the component installing range over the position registeringsupport platform 37, and to prohibit movement of the positionregistering support platform 37 in such a case, thereby making itpossible reliably to prevent mutual interference and damage if theposition registering support platform 37 moves towards the installinghead 21 when the component installing tools 51-54 are in a lowered statewhilst the installing head 21 is at a position outside the componentinstalling range on the position registering support platform 37.Moreover, since the light shielding plate 88 corresponds to the size ofa circuit board 1 of maximum size, no problems occur even if the size ofthe circuit board 1 changes. However, the length of the light shieldingplate 88 should be adjusted, or should be capable of being adjusted, inaccordance with adjustment of the interval between the conveyance rails35 corresponding to the size of the circuit board 1. The light shieldingplate 88 can also be replaced according to circumstances. Furthermore,besides the combination of a photosensor and light shielding platedescribed here for the area sensor 86, it is also possible to use anytype of hardware means having a similar function.

In the range where the area sensor 86 does not detect the lightshielding plate 88, any component installation operation by lowering thecomponent installing tools 51-54 of the installing head 21 isprohibited. In conjunction with this, if one or more of the componentinstalling tools 51-54 is in a lowered position and the area sensor 86is not detecting the light shielding plate 88, then the positionregistering support platform 37 is prohibited from moving in the Ydirection.

The area sensor 87 detects whether or not the component transfer head 65is in a position whereby it will interfere with the tray 4 of either oneof the tray component supply mechanisms 7, and in the presentembodiment, a photosensor is employed for this area sensor 87. Utilizingthe fact that the U-bend section 85a of the air tube 85 connected to thesuction nozzle, which forms the component transfer tool 67 of thecomponent transfer head 65, moves with any movement of the componenttransfer head 65, at ½ the speed thereof, the length L of the air tube85 extending along the tube guide 126 varying accordingly, the areasensor 87 is attached to a fixed member, such as the tube guide 126, orthe like, and detects which of the tray component supply mechanisms 7the component transfer head 65 is located next to, by means of thelength of the air tube 85 extending along the tube guide 126.Specifically, whilst the area sensor 87 is detecting the air tube 85 asindicated by the phantom lines in FIG. 6, it is judged that thecomponent transfer head 65 is located on the side of the right-hand traycomponent supply mechanism 7 in FIG. 6. In this case, any extracting orretracting operation of the trays 4 in the right-hand tray componentsupply mechanism 7 is prohibited, and the component transfer tool 67 ispermitted to be lowered. However, the component transfer head 65 isprohibited from moving towards the left-hand tray component supplymechanism 7 whilst the component transfer tool 67 is in a lowered state.At the same time, extracting or retracting operation of the trays 4 inthe left-hand tray component supply mechanism 7 is permitted. On theother hand, whilst the area sensor 87 is not detecting the air tube 85as indicated by the solid lines in FIG. 6, it is judged that thecomponent transfer head 65 is located on the side of the left-hand traycomponent supply mechanism 7 in FIG. 6. In this case, any extracting orretracting operation of the trays 4 in the left-hand tray componentsupply mechanism 7 is prohibited, and the component transfer tool 67 ispermitted to be lowered. However, the component transfer head 65 isprohibited from moving towards the right-hand tray component supplymechanism 7 whilst the component transfer tool 67 is in a lowered state.At the same time, extracting or retracting operation of the trays 4 inthe right-hand tray component supply mechanism 7 is permitted. It ispossible to use any type of hardware means for the area sensor 87 havinga similar function, besides the combination of a photosensor and lightshielding plate described here. However, since attaching the area sensor87 to a fixed member also enables electrical detection wiring to befixed, this allows relatively simple installation compared to a casewhere the sensor is attached to a moving member.

It should be noted that the object of the area sensor 87 is to detectwhich component supply position 6 the component transfer head 65 islocated in, and it may be composed in many different ways. For instance,besides detecting elements resembling the air tube 85, such aselectrical wiring paths, or the like, it is also possible to detect along member which is connected to the component transfer head 65 andmoves in conjunction with same, the current location of the componenttransfer head 65 being detected between a plurality of component supplypositions 6 according to the movement of the long member coupled to thecomponent transfer head 65. However, by using a previously installedmember, such as the air tube 85, it is not necessary to provide aspecial member for this purpose, and hence low costs can be achieved.

As described above, by detecting an interference operating regionbetween the installing head 21 and position registering support platform37 and an interference operating region between the installing head 21and a tray 4 or shuttle 26, by hardware means, it is possible reliablyto prevent interference by judging interference conditions according tothe positional relationships based on the actual movements performed,regardless of the operating program in the control device and thecontrol performed on the basis of same. Moreover, it is also suitable tomake combined use of interference prevention by hardware means of thiskind and interference prevention by software as described previously.

Moreover, in the present embodiment, the installing head 21 is devisedin such a manner that, when a problem occurs with the electroniccomponent 2 being handled, due to an installation fault or otherproblem, the installing head 21 discharges the problem component ontoone of two problem component processing conveyors 91 located inprescribed positions on either side of the cabinet 66 of the traycomponent supply section 8 illustrated in FIG. 2, for example. Theproblem component processing conveyor 91 is driven intermittently by aprescribed amount by means of a motor 92, whenever it receives a problemcomponent, and the received components are thus conveyed in a uniformdirection at a uniform pitch P and supplied for reinstallation,disposal, or other processing. Furthermore, if the dimensions or surfacearea of the problem component thus received are larger than a standardcomponent, then the conveyance distance is increased by an integralfactor (P×n) corresponding to the size ratio thereof. The referencecomponent can be set appropriately to any desired size of a prescribedtype of component, for instance, a particular size of flat packagecomponent, or the like.

Thereby, if there occurs a component causing an installation fault orother problems, when the installing head 21 is successively picking upsupplied electronic components 2 of various types and installing same ona circuit board 1, then this component is discharged onto a problemcomponent processing conveyor 91 located in a prescribed position. Thesecomponents are conveyed at a uniform pitch P by the problem componentprocessing conveyor 91 such that a space for receiving the nextelectronic component 2 is provided, and the problem components on theproblem component processing conveyor 91 are processed manually forreuse, disposal, or the like, according to their respective states. Evenif the electronic components 2 handled by the installing head 21 are ofvarious different sizes, since each problem component processingconveyor 91 is transported intermittently by the motor 92, by an amount(P×n) corresponding to the size of the electronic component 2 dischargedon the problem component processing conveyor 91, it is possible toprevent situations where two discharged electronic components 2 overlapand interfere with each other, causing mutual damage or causing acomponent or components to slide off the conveyor. Furthermore, sincethe conveyance distance is reduced to a minimum pitch P for smallproblem components, it is also possible to prevent situations where thewhole problem component processing conveyor 91 is transported furtherthan necessary, the discharged electronic components 2 are transportedtoo rapidly, and hence the staff responsible do not have the opportunityto process these problem components correctly.

In the present embodiment, a tool stocker 128 for stocking a variety ofcomponent installing tools which can be exchanged variously with thecomponent installing tools 51-54 is also provided within the movementrange of the installing head 21, so that electronic components 2 ofvarious types can be handled as appropriate. If necessary, it is alsopossible to devise the component transfer tool 67 in such a manner thatit can be exchanged for a tool of this kind.

The operational control of the aforementioned component installingdevice is carried out by means of a control device 102 provided insidethe device main unit 101 illustrated in FIG. 1. The control device 102may, suitably, employ a microcomputer, but the invention is not limitedto this. In order to perform the aforementioned operational control, thebasic construction of the control device 102 is such that aninput/output port thereof is connected to an operating panel 103provided in the device 101 as shown in FIG. 7. Verification circuits104-106 for obtaining required positional information by imageprocessing of inputs from the area sensors 86, 87 and the variousrecognition cameras 55, 71, 72, are connected to an input port. Anoutput port is connected to the objects under operational control,namely, a driver 107 for the cassette component supply section 13, adriver 108 for the tray component supply section 8, a driver 109 for thecomponent transfer head 65, a driver 110 for the component installinghead 21, a driver 111 for the Y direction table 41, and a driver 112 forthe problem component processing conveyors 91, in such a manner thatsignals designating the operational status of each object under controlcan be input respectively in real time.

The operational control of the problem component processing conveyors 91described above is performed by sixth control means 127 forming aninternal function of the control device 102. The operational restrictionof the trays 4 according to the area sensor 86 is carried out by firstcontrol means 121 forming an internal function of the control device102. The operational restriction of the trays 4 and component installinghead 21 according to the area sensor 86 and the operational status ofthe component installing tools 51-54 as input to the control device 102is performed by second control means 122 forming an internal function ofthe control device 102. The operational restriction of the trays 4according to the area sensor 87 is performed by third control means 123forming an internal function of the control device 102, and theoperational restriction of the trays 4 and component transfer head 65according to the area sensor 87 and the operational status input to thecontrol device 102 is performed by fourth control means 124 forming aninternal function of the control device 102. As described above, thedevice is capable of performing component installing operation in twodifferent modes: in the first component supply mode, respectivelyselected trays 4 in respective tray component supply mechanisms 7 asdescribed above are moved simultaneously to component supply positions6, as illustrated in FIG. 2, thereby supplying the electronic components2 accommodated in the trays 4 for use; and in the second componentsupply mode, electronic components 2 accommodated in a tray 4 moved to acomponent supply position 6 of a tray component supply mechanism 7 areloaded onto component holding sections 61-64 of the same shuttle 26 bymeans of a component transfer head 65, thereby supplying the electroniccomponents 2 for use. By means of a fifth control means 125 forming aninternal function of the control device 102, it is possible to performeither one of the first component supply mode or the second componentsupply mode only, or to perform both component supply modes conjointly,at various timings according to requirements, in conjunction with thesupply of electronic components 2 by the cassette component supplysection 13, in accordance with a component installing program. Moreover,the second component supply mode may also be controlled in such a mannerthat the supply of electronic components 2 from the cassette componentsupply section 13 is continued until there is a signal which indicatesthat the component installing head 21 has picked up all the electroniccomponents 2 loaded on the component holding sections 61-64, on thebasis of information indicating that electronic components 2 have beenloaded to all of, or the required ones of, component holding sections61-64, and that subsequent installation has been performed and loadingof the electronic components 2 has ended.

In the first component supply mode described above, at the maximum,electronic components 2 of a number of types corresponding to the numberof jointly provided tray component supply mechanisms 7 can be suppliedand provided for use simultaneously, or successively, and therefore theefficiency of supplying electronic components 2 of plural types by meansof tray component supply mechanisms 7 is improved. Moreover, in thesecond component supply mode, a plurality of electronic components 2held in respective holding sections 61-64 of a shuttle 26 can be pickedup and provided for use simultaneously by means of component installingtools 51-54, or the like, in the aforementioned component installinghead 21, which have an alignment direction and alignment pitch matchingthose in which the plurality of electronic components 2 are held, andtherefore the number of operations and the time period required for theelectronic components 2 to be picked up and used can be reduced. Byperforming the loading of the aforementioned electronic components 2,and the like, in parallel with the operation of supplying componentsfrom further component supply sections, comprising a further traycomponent supply mechanism 7, cassette component supply sections 13having component supply cassettes 12, and other such component supplymechanisms, it is possible to improve efficiency for tasks wherein aprescribed number of electronic components 2, or the like, are handledin a similar manner, for example, a task for installing the samecomponent onto a split circuit board, as described above.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

According to the component installing device and component supply deviceof the present invention, as described above, cassette component supplysections for handling small components having a high frequency of use,and a tray component supply section comprising a plurality of jointlyprovided tray component supply mechanisms for handling large orirregularly shaped components, are used in conjunction with each other,components being supplied and installed with good efficiency by means ofvarious different component supply modes. Therefore it is possible toachieve further increase in the speed of component installation, therebymaking the invention beneficially applicable to the field of electroniccircuit board manufacture, where high productivity is sought.

What is claimed is:
 1. A component installing device comprising: a traycomponent supply section (8) having a plurality of conjointly providedtray component supply mechanisms (7) for selecting trays (4)accommodating prescribed components (2), and moving said trays (4) froma storage position (5) to a component supply position (6), according toneed, thereby providing the components (2) for use; a cassette componentsupply section (13) having a plurality of mutually aligned componentsupply cassettes (12) for carrying components in a tape cassette or abulk cassette, and transporting said components to a component supplyposition (11), one at a time, thereby providing said components for use;and an installing head (21) for picking up components (2) accommodatedin the respective trays (4) located at the component supply position (6)of the respective tray component supply mechanisms (7) in the traycomponent supply section (8), and installing the components (2) atprescribed positions on an installation object (1).
 2. The componentinstalling device according to claim 1, further comprising a pluralityof component installing tools (51-54) on said installing head (21) forinstalling components (2) aligned in a prescribed direction; a pluralityof shuttles (26), which perform reciprocal movement in such a mannerthat one of the plurality of shuttles move a selected tray (4) from thestorage position (5) to the component supply position (6) and thenreturn the same to said storage position (5); component holding sections(61-64) for holding components (2), provided on at least one of saidshuttles (26) and aligned along a direction of movement and at a pitchcorresponding to the alignment direction and alignment pitch of saidcomponent installing tools (51-54); and a component transfer head (65)for picking up components (2) accommodated in a tray (4) that has beenmoved to a component supply position (6) of a tray component supplymechanism (7) and for loading these components (2) onto said componentholding sections (61-64); wherein said installing head (21) is able topick up the components (2) held on said component holding sections(61-64) and install same at prescribed positions of the installationobject (1).
 3. The component installing device according to claim 2,wherein said component holding sections (61-64) are provided in equalnumber to the component installing tools (51-54) of the installing head(21).
 4. The component installing device according to claim 2, whereinsaid component transfer head (65) is devised in such a manner thatcomponents (2) picked up from a tray (4) are rotated preliminarily in adirection corresponding to their orientation for installation on theinstallation object (1) by the installing head (21), before being heldby the component holding sections (61-64).
 5. The component installingdevice according to claim 2, wherein, in cases where a component (2) isa problem component which could cause an installation problem, theinstalling head (21) discharges said component onto a problem componentprocessing conveyor (91) located at a prescribed position, said problemcomponent processing conveyor (91) being driven intermittently by aprescribed amount, each time it receives a discharged problem component,thereby conveying received problem components in a uniform direction ata uniform pitch (P), in such a manner that they can be supplied forsubsequent processing.
 6. The component installing device according toclaim 5, wherein, when a problem component received from the installinghead (21) is larger than a reference component, when conveying theproblem component, the problem component processing conveyor (91)increases the amount of conveyance by a factor corresponding to a sizeratio of the reference component to the problem component.
 7. Acomponent supply device, comprising: a plurality of adjacently providedtray component supply mechanisms (7) for selecting trays (4)accommodating prescribed components (2) and moving said trays (4) from astorage position (5) to a component supply position (6), according toneed, thereby providing the components (2) accommodated therein for use;a plurality of shuttles (26), which perform reciprocal movement in sucha manner that they move a selected tray (4) of one of the respectivetray component supply mechanisms (7) from the storage position (5) tothe component supply position (6) thereof and then return same to saidstorage position (5); component holding sections (61-64), provided on atleast one of said shuttles (26), for holding components (2) in aprescribed alignment direction and at a prescribed alignment pitch andfor providing same for use; and a component transfer head (65) forpicking up components (2) accommodated in a tray (4) that has been movedto a component supply position (6) of a tray component supply mechanism(7) and for loading these components (2) onto said component holdingsections (61-64); wherein said tray component supply mechanisms (7) havea first component supply mode, whereby respective selected trays (4) aremoved simultaneously to component supply positions (6), therebyproviding the components (2) accommodated in the respective trays (4)for use, and a second component supply mode, whereby components (2)accommodated in a tray (4) located at a component supply position (6) ofa tray component supply mechanism (7) are loaded onto the componentholding sections (61-64) of the same shuttle (26) by means of thecomponent transfer head (65), thereby providing said components for use.8. The component supply device according to claim 7, wherein saidcomponent transfer head (65) comprises a component transfer tool (67)for picking up components (2) accommodated in a tray (4) located at acomponent supply position (6) and loading same onto the componentholding sections (61-64) of a shuttle (26), and an area sensor (87) fordetecting at which component supply position (6) of the respective traycomponent supply mechanisms (7) the component transfer head (65) islocated, movement of the tray (4) being prohibited at the componentsupply position (6) where the area sensor (87) detects the componenttransfer head (65) to be located.
 9. The component supply deviceaccording to claim 8, wherein said component transfer head (65) isprohibited from moving to another component supply position (6), whenthe component transfer tool (67) of the component transfer head (65) islowered at the component supply position (6) where the area sensor (87)detects the component transfer head (65) to be located.
 10. Thecomponent supply device according to claim 8, wherein the area sensor(87) is provided on a fixed section and detects a member connected tothe component transfer head (65) and moving in conjunction with thecomponent transfer head (65).
 11. An electronic component installingdevice for automatically installing components onto a substrate,comprising: a plurality of trays, each tray storing a plurality ofcomponents; a tray supply section for storing the plurality of trays ina vertical array; a movable shuttle member for selectively removing atray from the tray supply section to a load position and replacing thetray in the tray supply section, the shuttle member having a pluralityof component holding sections; a component transfer head for removing acomponent from a tray at the load position and aligning the component onone of the plurality of component holding sections, prior to themounting of the component on the substrate; and an installation headthat can pick up the component on the component holding section andmount the component on the substrate.
 12. The electronic componentinstalling device of claim 11 further including a conveyance path unitfor moving the substrate along a conveyance path relative to the loadposition of the tray to a component installation position operativelyavailable to the installation head and a position registering supportunit for moving the substrate off of the conveyance path in a directionof movement of the installation head to enable a pickup of a componentand to decrease the movement distance of the installation head forsubsequently loading a component on the substrate.
 13. The electroniccomponent installing device of claim 12 further including a firstrecognition camera on a first side of the conveyance path and a secondrecognition camera on a second side of the conveyance path, the firstand second recognition cameras can image a picked up component.
 14. Theelectronic component installing device of claim 13 further including athird recognition camera on the installation head to image a position ofthe substrate to enable alignment with the installation head.